How do I put myself in front of the “right people?

I'm going to teeter on the edge of nauseating cliche for the next couple paragraphs, so bare with me.

Experience has taught me that the “right people” look a whole lot different than you think.

I’m reflecting on my life circa 2010. I was going through a rough patch. The right people, it turned out, were a group of friends who convinced me, over cheap burritos and even cheaper beer, not to quit music. The right people were musicians who invited me to a nondescript jam on Sunday nights at a nautically themed bar in the Wallingford. The right person was a partner who loved me, despite my being an insufferable numb-nuts. Thank god the industry didn’t come calling. I wasn’t ready. Certain relationships have changed since then, but I was and continue to be the luckiest Trevor I know. Learning to trust and embrace love in my life changed everything.

So, appreciate where you are, find the humor therein, and buy a round for the no-doubt righteous motherfuckers who have your back. Start there.

As far as industry goes, my experience with the Al Stone project’s straight out of Field of Dreams: if you build it, they will come. We had zero plan. Jesus Christ, I’m fairly certain Allen had zero pairs of underwear at the time. But we didn’t know any better, so we kept on keeping on. The band grew organically (even though I hate that fucking term), and when the time was right the industry came to us. One of life’s great pleasures is sitting across from label executives, your over-sized Hawaiian shirt flecked with bits of crab leg, listening to their sales pitch. And the “right people” probably aren’t these clowns, by the way. Order another mojito.

When you're in the trenches, "be patient" is the last thing you want to hear, but there really are no short cuts if the thing's going to stick. Share your art, relentlessly, obnoxiously even. And, above all, keep on keeping on.